JULY 20, 2009 - L'ETAPE du TOUR

By Debbie Bulloch



On Monday, July 20, 2009, just four days after Bastille Day, Monsieur Arcabulle Odriscoll, a friend of mine, a frequent contributor to this blog, a friend of many of you and a friend of BH will ride on L’Etape du Tour.

Arc is a very modest, even self-effacing, person. He thinks that riding on L’Etape du Tour is not a big deal – I disagree. This year’s riders of L’Etape du Tour will climb France’s fierce Mont Ventoux. For those of you who do not ride bikes competitively and for those of you who may not be familiar with Mont Ventoux, let me put what Arc is going to do on July 20 into its proper perspective.

MONT VENTOUX – THE WINDY MOUNTAIN

Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some 20km north-east of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north-side, the mountain borders the Drôme département. It is the largest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the "Giant of Provence", or "The Bald Mountain." Mont Ventoux rises to a height of over 1900 meters at the top. (For us Americans who do not know metric conversions, that is over 6,200 feet.)

As the name suggests (venteux means windy in French), it can get very windy at the summit, especially with the mistral; wind speeds as high as 320 km/h (200 mph) have been recorded. In fact, the road over the mountain is often closed due to high winds.

Mont Ventoux, although geologically part of the Alps, is often considered to be separate from them, due to the lack of mountains of a similar height nearby. It stands alone to the west of the Luberon range, and just to the east of the Dentelles de Montmirail, its foothills. The top of the mountain is bare limestone without vegetation or trees, giving it an almost lunar-like look. The white limestone on the mountain's barren peak appears, from a distance, to be snow-capped all year round (its snow cover actually lasts from December to April). Its isolated position overlooking the valley of the Rhône ensures that it dominates the entire region and can be seen from many miles away on a clear day. I have read that the view from the top is absolutely superb.

A VIDEO BY CANNONDALE BIKES – THE CLIMB TO THE TOP



MONT VENTOUX AND THE WORLD OF CYCLING

Mont Ventoux has become legendary as the scene of one of the most grueling climbs in the Tour de France bicycle race, which has ascended the mountain thirteen times since 1951. The followed trail mostly passes through Bédoin. Its fame as a scene of great Tour dramas has made it a magnet for cyclists around the world.

The mountain achieved worldwide notoriety when it claimed the life of British cyclist Tom Simpson, who died here on July 13, 1967 from heat exhaustion caused by a combination of factors including dehydration (caused by lack of fluid intake and diarrhea). It has been reported that as Tom approached the summit, he began to wildly weave across the road before falling down. Although he was delirious, he asked spectators to put him back on the bike, which he rode to within a half mile of the summit before collapsing dead, still clipped into his pedals. There is now a memorial to Simpson near the summit; the memorial has become a shrine to fans of cycling, who often leave small tokens of remembrance there.

For road bicycle racing enthusiasts, the mountain can be climbed by three routes.

• South from Bédoin: 21,8 km over 1617 m. This is the most famous and difficult ascent. The road to the summit has an average gradient of 7.43%. Until Saint-Estève, the climb is easy: 3.9% over 5,8 km, but the 16 remaining kilometres have an average gradient of 8.9%. The last kilometres may have strong, violent winds. The ride takes 1h30m-2h30m hours for trained amateur riders. Professional riders take 1h-1h15 min. The fastest time so far recorded has been that of Iban Mayo in the individual climbing time trial of the 2004 Dauphiné Libéré: 55' 51". The time was measured from Bédoin for the first time in the 1958 Tour de France, in which Charly Gaul was the fastest at 1h 2' 9".

• North-west from Malaucène: 21,5 km over 1570 m. About equal in difficulty as the Bédoin ascent, better sheltered against the wind.

• East from Sault: 26 km over 1210 m. The easiest route. After Chalet Reynard (where the "lunar landscape" of the summit starts), the climb is the same as the Bédoin ascent. Average gradient of 4.4%.

The climb by bike from Bédoin to Mont Ventoux is one of the toughest in professional cycling. In case you missed that, let me repeat it: the climb from Bédoin to Mont Ventoux is one of the toughest for PROFESSIONAL RIDERS. To get a detailed impression of this climb, the route has been measured accurately.

BEDOIN TO MONT VENTOUX – THE CLIMB

The figure for the average gradients per kilometer can be found in many books and websites on cycling. The average gradient of the total climb and also the average gradients per kilometer differ slightly, depending on the source of the information. Accurate measurements result in an average gradient for the total climb of 7.43%, based on a horizontal distance of 21765 meters and an ascent height of 1617 meters. The actual distance ridden is 21825 meters.

The average gradients per kilometer are as follows:

Kilometre Average gradient Kilometre Average gradient

1 1.9 % 12 10.1 %
2 2.8 % 13 9.2 %
3 3.8 % 14 9.4 %
4 5.8 % 15 8.8 %
5 5.6 % 16 6.9 %
6 3.1 % 17 6.6 %
7 8.6 % 18 6.8 %
8 9.4 % 19 7.4 %
9 10.5 % 20 8.3 %
10 10.1 % 21 9.1 %
11 9.3 % 22 10.0 %

CLIMBING MONT VENTOUX – A RIDER’S PERSPECTIVE

I have never climbed such high mountain tops on my bike; and I will probably never be able to either. I am just not a strong climber, riding against the wind, not climbing, is my forte.

I have, however, ridden my mountain bike in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the elevation is approximately 7,000 feet. I have also ridden my mountain bike in Flagstaff, Arizona, where the elevation is approximately 6,900 feet.

I did not ride to those places, I rode in and around those places. I rode on the flat portions around town, never climbing very high. But at that altitude, even when riding on the flats, the lack of oxygen is simply brutal. From the moment that you start riding, to the moment that you finish, your lungs are literally burning, screaming for every molecule of oxygen. If you are not in good shape, and I am not in good shape, lactic acid starts to build in your leg muscles and soon your legs send a signal to your brain: FOR GOD’S SAKE STOP THIS STUPID RIDING BUSINESS AND TAKE A TAXI CAB HOME! (As you can see, my legs are very chatty.) One, of course, must ignore the legs and just keep on riding. Eventually, the brain completely disconnects from the legs and even though the pain is still there, you just can’t feel it anymore (or you stop caring).

ARC will not be riding “around” the summit; he is going to ride all the way to the summit and back. This is an amazing physical feat and although he won’t admit it, it takes a very special athlete to even try to climb Mont Ventoux.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Arc has not been able to train as much as he wants. He has been sick over the last few weeks and that has drastically cut into his training time. His mental attitude, however, remain positive - that is where we can all help him conquer the Monster of Provence.

I want each of one you reading this post, to send an IM or a notecard to Arc, wishing him luck and telling him how much you respect his attempt to climb Mont Ventoux. Then, I want you to do one more thing.

On Monday, July 20, I want all of you to focus your thoughts, your goodwill and your mental energies on Arc. I am not sure when the ride start, (France is nine hours ahead of California time) but I want you to take time to think about Arc climbing that mountain and send him your energy. I think that if enough of us do that, we will help carry Arc safely to the top and back down again.

So remember, this is what we need to do:

1. Send Arc an IM or a notecard telling him that you support his efforts, and
2. On ride day, focus your energy and your positive thoughts on Arc as he climbs to the top of the windy mountain.

Merci!
Here are some pictures, taken off the Net, of what Arc will face on July 20th.

ELEVATION CHART



CLIMBING TO THE SUMMIT





MONUMENT TO TOM SIMPSON



LUNAR LANDSCAPE AT THE SUMMIT



A SON’S VIDEO TRIBUTE TO HIS FATHER, AS THE FATHER CLIMBED MONT VENTOUX



Carpe Mont Ventoux!